The Power of CV: Is This A Tinder Date?

What one would expect for a CV writing workshop would actually be on how to write a CV, but what the students learned from just one hour today was much more in the Pre-Careers Fair Series: CV Writing by Samsung organised by Careers Advisory Service.

The speaker, Mr. Shu Tze Yuh is a Head of Human Resource Strategy and Engagement in Samsung Malaysia who strategises and engages personnel for the company. He came in with such enthusiasm and was already making the coming talk better.

In his own words, how you write a CV may not be as important as why you write that in a CV. A CV can be said to be a sort of advertisement to promote yourself in the midst of fresh graduates, how would you advertise yourself to stand out? With everyone having a similar bachelor’s degree, one would need something extra special to stand out.

Always put information that shows your grasp of the matter and not just what you did, try to provide a context when inserting information about yourself. Don’t put information just for the sake of filling up the page. Work experience and extracurricular activities are always welcomed as everyone would have a similar bachelor’s degree. Do not be afraid to show what makes you different.

In layman terms for a university student, one could think a CV as a person on Tinder, it is how you present the information about yourself to attract a potential date (employer). After that, you would need to go on a date (interview) to know more about each other (you and the company) and that is where you would need to show your worth and stand out from the rest.

With that being said, Mr. Shu leaves 3 essential tips for CV writing:

In the language of English.

Neat and easy to read.

Don’t lie! Be yourself.

Mr. Shu’s talk about CV writing was not the typical one where the speaker guides you on the structure of a CV but on how to fully maximise one’s identity and personality to pique the interest of an employer.